First Steps: Deciding to Come to the US is the Easy Part

Pharmacy student Mohamed Mostafa asked us on Facebook about how to get started once you decide you want to study in the U.S.
Deciding you want to study in the U.S. is a big decision, but making it is the easy part – it’s what comes next that’s hard. Our blogger Nareg says he definitely sympathizes with Mohamed’s need for guidance:

It can definitely feel overwhelming having to deal with all sorts of research, paperwork, and bureaucracy when you’ve decided to apply for higher education in the US. The simplest but truest advice is: hang in there! It takes a lot of patience, but there’s no reason why you can’t make it if all is in order. Of course, getting things in order takes work, but I doubt anyone who wants to go to a whole new country to study would be incapable of some well-directed efforts.

Luckily, some very nice folks at EducationUSA saw me talking about this on Twitter, and shared with me the step-by-step guide that they use. And now I’m going to share it with you! The stuff in bold comes straight from their guide – everything else is my (hopefully useful) commentary.

1. How do I start?

- Step 1: Research choices & tests

You will need to first research your choices and find a school that best fits your needs. Every student is different, and when making your choices you should consider the factors that are most important to you in both your education and your lifestyle.

Maybe it’s important to you that you end up in a particular city, like it was for Tara, or maybe, like Nick, you want to find the best academic department for the subject you want to study. There are many criteria you can use to narrow down your options and find the schools you want to apply to.

Nareg suggests that once you have a list of schools you might be interested in applying to, you should look at each of their websites for more information.

I’d say get your start, though, by combing through each page of your candidate schools’ websites. Very often, just by going through different presentations or designs, one can get a feel for schools and compare their traits. If there is anything on there you don’t understand, or if you have special considerations, then do not hesitate to e-mail or telephone the college or university directly. Again, patience is always a virtue when it comes to these sorts of things.

You will probably also have to take a test to prove your English proficiency. This is typically the TOEFL or the IELTS. I know, it’s all a lot of letters and acronyms, but you’ll get used to them eventually.

On to EducationUSA’s second step!

2. How do I apply?

- Step 2: Apply & Be Admitted

Application packages require a great deal of preparation and planning, and there are benefits to starting this process and applying early.

The good news is that each year international students receive significant amounts of financial assistance toward their studies in the U.S. The most recent report produced by NAFSA: The Association of International Educators estimates that $7.223 billion was received by over 690,000 international students studying in the U.S. in 2009-10.

Creative commons photo by Flickr user p373

There are a lot of different places you can look for financial aid, and our bloggers are proof of that, so make sure you’re looking into all your options. Some of our bloggers are getting aid from their universities, some from their home governments, some from the U.S. government, and some from private sources.

They also made decisions like spending their first two years at a community college or their first year at home in order to cut costs.

So there you go. That’s how you should get started once you decide to study in the U.S.

EducationUSA’s step-by-step guide contains two additional steps, by the way. They are: (4) Get a Visa; and (5) Get Ready to Go (prepare for departure). But you’ve got to get into a school before you have to worry about those steps!

Different colleges and universities work differently, but many have very helpful international student support staff. They can guide you through the process, from applying to be admitted, all the way up to getting visas and booking flights.

The information is very useful for me as a financial aid representative. Although our institution has an International Programs office we encounter a great deal of students that need assistance and direction in funding their educations. After reviewing the information provided I believe that you have managed to cover the most essential elements of the process from admissions to enrollment. Thanks!!!!!!

I don’t know the answer to your question, but I will try to find out and get back to you. I do know that many international students study health professions in the US – over 32,000 in the 2009/2010 school year.

[...] is that she was “lazier” than her friends. I find that hard to believe as she tells me she researched American universities by putting together an Excel spreadsheet with information about every school she was interested [...]

[...] actually covered this very topic in a previous post, “First Steps: Deciding to Come to the US is the Easy Part,” which goes through the first steps you should take once you’ve decided to study in [...]

I really admire the way you put your efforts in counselling us. I’m a 17- year old from Pakistan and currently studying under gcse based high school system. Can you tell me what medical undergraduate programs in the US offer to high achievers in A-levels specifically(Generally, and scholarship wise)….And what about loans? Are loans easily available to international applicants coming from Advanced-levels?….One last one. Having *completed* our medical edu outside US and being fully licensed to practice medicine , can getting employed in US as a full-fledge doctor(or even as an intern) be that much difficult? Any piece of advice from you will be appreciateed.

Please help me how to study in U.S ,as I have studied only one Russian language in Sankt Piterburg Russia, for 2nd yr I couldn,t afford the high cost of College in Sankt Piterburg, or either the high cost of accomodation in Russia, that,safter returned to my Country Afghanistan, to carry on my job. so after the job i will be able to pay for the education in U.S.
Please help me how to carry on my study in English and I want to improve my English, bcz i,m familiar with English language .

I tried too much to take benificial information from sites but got no benifit of them,,,,,
Thanks,

hello,…my name is yahya i leve in afghanistan ,i want that get higher edjucation in madical faculta in usa .i am grujvated from high school in afghanistan.what i do that study in usa .?answer me ok have a good time

hi Awais her from Pakistan, i have completed my 12 years eduation with good grades here in Pk, now i want to study software engineering in US, need a bit of assistane in finding scholarship for my programe,

I want to thank you for the information given
but I was wondering if there are any information about rooming or finding a place to live in
I am an American citizen but I have lived almost all of my life outside of the States, I am willing to study college there but there is no one that can help with that so I’m doing my best to work it out on my own .. but I really could use a hand with this please !

Try some of these articles that we’ve written about housing options. As an undergraduate student, campus dorms are usually an option (sometimes even required), so freshmen often do that and then move off campus later once they get the lay of the land.

Glossary of Confusing Words

All the words were submitted by YOU, so visit the glossary to see the words that have been defined already and to suggest your own.

Resources

EducationUSA
A global network of more than 400 advising centers supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State

Fulbright
The U.S. government’s “flagship” program sponsoring international exchanges. The program offers grants for students, scholars and professionals. About 8,000 Fulbright grants are awarded each year

Study in the U.S. – USA.gov
USA.gov is the U.S. government’s official site for information and services. This page has a list of links to important information for international students coming to the U.S.

Visas – U.S. State Department
The official visa information source for the U.S. Includes a specific section on F, M and J visas, the visas used for study and exchange programs